Personal Bests

A Look Back.

Haven’t done a weekly wrap-up in too many weeks! This week felt kind of nuts. We have a big backyard project going on, and it felt like we were out and about more than usual. That probably had something to do with our incredible weather all week long! Our temps peaked in the high 80’s, which is a big deal here in Seattle. We celebrated by breaking out the sunscreen and hitting up the beaches and parks almost every morning!

It was heaven, and it was such a fun sneak peek into what I am certain will be a wonderful summer. We got outside for lots of family walks with both the kids and the dogs, and we spent every other waking minute enjoying the sunshine from our backyard. Casey and I spent evenings up on our balcony soaking up the city views. It only takes one week like this to make all the long, dark days of winter feel more than worth it.

I don’t have a formal breakdown of exercise, but I thought I’d take a minute to talk about…running. After Cullen was born, I had a really hard time both physically and mentally getting back into running. It was a lot of typical new mom stuff, combined with some thyroid issues, and a general lack of motivation. This time around, despite being two times as busy juggling two kids, I am feeling really positive and inspired!

I think a big part of that has been setting much more realistic and reasonable goals and expectations. I am currently training for the Seattle Rock N Roll Half-Marathon coming up at the end of June. Knowing the limitations of fitting in training without much childcare, I created a training schedule of just three runs per week. For the most part, I’ve been able to stick to this relatively well.

During the week, I’m doing my shorter runs with the double BOB, which is brutal, but I know it can only make me stronger and faster (some please tell me this is true!). So far, the boys have done really well in the stroller, and I think Cullen actually likes having a buddy in there after riding solo for 2+ years.

Other times if we can make it work, we all run as a family! Casey will ride the bus up to my favorite Greenlake trail loop, and we’ll all run together after work. He pushes the stroller and I crank my headphones up as loud as they go and I give it my all. If I run my absolute fastest and Casey is weighed down by the giant stroller, we are almost evenly matched in pace.

The nice thing about running with a double jogger is that when I get the opportunity to run without it, I really savor those runs. No offense to the kids or anything, but they are heavy to push and I struggle to run without being able to listen to my music (need to be able to hear them). Each weekend I do my long run alone, and even though I kind of dread the physical act of running, I look forward to the opportunity to be alone with just my music and my thoughts – doing something just for me.

This weekend was really rainy and gloomy, but I had five miles on my training schedule that needed to be run. After nap time, the perfect window opened up where Cullen was happy and playing, Graham had a full belly, Casey was finished working, and we were all just lounging around not doing too much. I looked out the window and saw the pouring rain, and I told myself to go lace up my running shoes anyway.

I jogged five rainy miles along the waterfront bluffs of our neighborhood – and it was awesome. It was the furthest I’ve run since Graham was born, and while it didn’t feel great, it wasn’t terrible either. I purposely mapped some tough hills into my route, so I won’t be surprised by them on race day.

Overall, I’m just feeling really good and really excited about running again. I don’t really know how to describe it, but I’m thinking about it a lot differently than I have in a long time. This whole postpartum experience has been very different this second time around – for many different reasons. The biggest one of those is that I’m doing much better both asking for and accepting help.

When Cullen was a baby I felt like I had to take care of him all the time and do everything myself. And while that’s a topic too loaded for today, it’s safe to say it took a long time for me to dig out of the hole where I’d buried my sense of self.

This time around, I’m taking care of myself in order to take care of my kids. Running is a big part of that – it is (mostly) alone time. Or occasionally the chance to run with a friend! Casey has been wonderful and encouraging of me getting out on my own here and there, and I have gladly accepted the opportunities when they’ve come.

This afternoon both of the kids were asleep (!), and I snuck off to go wander through the Sunday farmers markets. It was pouring rain and I didn’t care one bit. I pulled my hood up, ordered a piping hot decaf masala chai at my favorite tea shop, and took my time browsing booths, chatting with vendors, and feeling totally in love with my city.

Other things making me happy? New clothes! I don’t consider myself to be very materialistic, and I am definitely not stylish or fashionable, but it’s amazing what a difference a few pieces of well-fitting, nicer items of clothing can do for some new mama confidence.

I shared my first (and third!) Stitchfix boxes here, but I haven’t posted any others since then. I love seeing what other people get in their Stitchfix shipments, so hopefully you guys like seeing it too. My most recent box arrived last week, and it was another good one. I threw the card away already that had the names and prices of each item – oops. The clothing will have to speak for itself…

When I saw on my card that I had a shirt described as “chevron” I gave it a big eye roll. ENOUGH with the chevron. But when I pulled this out of the box, I didn’t actually think it looked too chevron-y, and I absolutely loved the style and material. This was a keeper!

I was slightly surprised (and admittedly slightly disappointed) that this next shirt was almost identical to a shirt I kept from my first box. Only difference is the material and color! But I love the dolman style, and it looks better in person than it does in this picture (less bunchy!). Also, Cullen decided that he needed to stand next to me while dad took the pictures. Some battles are not worth having. This shirt was another keeper.

This tunic thing was awful – hated the material, hated the color, and hated the weird asymmetrical hemline. Returned!

This cardigan was also returned for obvious reasons. Even with a shirt underneath it was way too small and short. Also, just not my style (do I have style?).

Last but not least, a cute maxi dress! Ignore my hot mess hair and black eyes, and I promise you that this dress is super adorable. Perfect for summer and a good neckline for breastfeeding – keep!

So I kept three out of five things, which I consider to be a success. It’s also worth saying that I haven’t bought myself a single piece of clothing since I started using the Stitchfix service. I definitely don’t need more than one or two new things each month (if even that!), so this has been plenty and has been a whole lot of fun.

So there you go – the current update on workouts and my wardrobe – how exciting! Back tomorrow to talk about summer food and growing our first vegetable garden. Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Running with a Double Bob will make you so much stronger. I did all my run training for a half ironman with a single Chariot so when I ran without it, even on tired legs after the bike, running felt easy-ish :-)

I don’t know how Emily will answer, but I know speaking for myself… I often have to push myself out the door and kind of dread the run in advance. What I LOVE about running, though, is the feeling after you’ve pushed through the first few crappy miles, the way the high sticks around all day, the way it gives me quiet with my thoughts (I love running in silence, no headphones for me), the satisfaction in pushing myself further or faster than I did before, the camraderie of a race… I think most runners probably have a love-hate relationship with running, and hopefully the love will outweigh the hate for you. Go for it!!

I dread walking out the door, warming up, feeling stiff, feeling sore, etc. But I love pushing myself, racing, setting goals, etc. It’s the physical stuff that I tend to dread, but the mental and emotional payoff is well worth it!

I have a love-hate relationship with running!! But there is nothing better than the way I feel physically AND mentally (hello sense of accomplishment!) when I am done with a run, succeeding with training, and performing well in a race.

I guess I meant I dread the physical process of walking out the door, getting warmed up, etc. Once I am a few miles in I usually love it, and feel proud and excited to finish. But it’s definitely a mental challenge!

I feel like a total weirdo for asking but how do you bf in that maxi dress? Does the strap fall low enough? I bf my LO for 19 months but I guess I must have really have no style bc I think I wore nursing tops the entire time. With #2 due any week now, I’m inspired by your fashion choices and hope I’ll be more open minded with my styling and putting myself first from time to time.

I do this, and it’s better than nothing, but I still don’t find it nearly as motivating. I love loud music and getting lost in my thoughts when running, which is hard to do when you are stopping every two minutes to replace a toy, offer a snack, wipe a booger, etc. :)

I can’t attest for a double, but I do almost every run with my single b.o.b. So far this year I have run 321 stroller miles, while trying for the Vermont City Marathon. I just got a 3 minute pr in my last half and that was a time I was stuck at gorgeous 4 years. Plus I was even pushing the stroller then. In short, you will mist definitely get stronger and faster with the double.

As for music, I play Disney or other kids stations, or sometime even Pitbul on pandora through my phone, so Gregory can hear. Sometimes he says, “no. Off” because he’d rather talk but sometimes he’ll dance and sing. Maybe that is an option.

“When Cullen was a baby I felt like I had to take care of him all the time and do everything myself”
My daughter is 15 months old and I am struggling with this too, but changing that mindset can be really difficult, especially as I’m now back at work 2.5 days a week so when I am home I feel quite guilty leaving her to just do something “for me”. I know you didn’t want to go into it here but if you ever feel like discussing how you’ve been able to change your mindset this time around I’d be really interested.

This is a really hard mindset to break out of, unless you are literally forced to do it (like having another baby, haha!). It also gets better as kids get older. After Cullen stopped BFing I finally went away for a weekend by myself, and it was really healthy for all of us to see that he would be just fine without me. And he had a BLAST with his dad (of course). I will definitely write more on this!

House work is so good but so distracting to other things in life. Are you going to post about the backyard project? We bought a house last fall. Now that it is warmer we are itching to tackle the yard.

Hi! I’ve been enjoying your blog for a while; first time commenter :) Just wanted to applaud you for getting out with the double jogger. It will make you stronger! I always appreciated that it was a nice upper body workout in addition to the legs with running. When I had 3 kids under 4 I used to really look forward to the two days a week that my oldest was at preschool and I could get out for a run with the younger two in the jogger. It gives you a fresh perspective on the day, doesn’t it? I agree that running should be mostly about mental health when they’re little… there’s plenty of time for speed and heavy-duty training when they get older (and it does get easier to get out the door when babies grow up :)

I could have written the running mom part of this post. I think after the first kid I thought I’d get back to my old life eventually, but then I had a second. With the second I realized that my mom life was my new life so I had to fit in the things I love to do in a reasonable way without old expectations.

I got that same maxi dress from StichFix but mine is in nave and I love it. It looks great on you too and I know you will love it. I was thrilled it was the perfect length and didn’t need to be hemmed. :)

The dress is gorgeous!!! Well done for putting yourself first…it’s all a learning experience! I fell out of love with running after my foot gave me nothing but hassle. Now that the weather is a bit nicer I’m doing the occasional 5k and loving it. It’s such a psychological and physical game!

You look amazing! I loved reading how you’re putting less pressure on yourself to do everything for #2! I’m currently expecting #2, and realized that I simply cannot do things the same way again, for my mental health and happiness. I felt like I had to do everything and be there every second or I was a failure. I really disappeared…and am still just slowly coming back (if that makes sense).

Please keep posting the stitch fix! It seems so fun, and I’m really thinking about trying it after #2 arrives and the baby weight is gone.

Yep, that was me too. For some reason it has been much easier for me to ask for and accept help this time. Probably because I literally CANNOT do it all. I will definitely write more on this. Congrats on #2!

This may sound funny, but I thought the tunic made your face look so bright and cheery! The crazy thing is, I don’t like pink myself. Maybe if I took pictures of myself in pink (at the store?) it might grow on me.

I thought you looked fantastic in the tunic! It was my favorite piece, closely tied by the chevron. The cut and the color I thought were very flattering…. Something about the red decreased your tired eyes. That said, if you’re not feeling it, you’re not feeling it! No pressure. Just wanted you to know.

Wasn’t that heat we had last week AMAZING!!! It was perfect! It was hot enough to enjoy and sleep with the window open but not long enough to really build up too bad and be too much. Our new house is so much better insulated and window placement allows for more a cross breeze so it wasn’t a sauna like our old house. Your Stitchfix pieces were really cute! I’d probably feel the same way about the chevron top, but it does look really pretty. I see a guy jogging in our neighborhood with a double stroller like yours… on the trails in my neighborhood. Granted they are clean trails-like gravel in the woods- up and down with steep inclines… But still- I feel the inclines and I’m just walk/jogging!

Oh man, love the cross breeze. We are dealing with an issue in our current house where the windows are all really LOW to the ground. Up until now I’ve always opened them at night for the nice cool breeze, but now that Cullen is in a toddler bed, it feels way too dangerous to have them open. He is definitely at “push the screen out” level. Yikes. Gonna be a hot summer!!

When I run with the jogging stroller, I just play my music out loud on my phone. It’s definitely not as great as listening with headphones, but I can still talk to and hear my daughter.
I love the dress!

I have to give you major props for running with a double jogger. Running in and of itself is tough enough as it is — I can’t imagine running while pushing the weight of two extra people and a stroller! You must feel like you can fly when you run solo.

Your link back to your previous post about running after Cullen was born reminded me that you had thyroid issues then. Did it go away or do you still deal with that? If its too personal I understand, I am just curious because I recently found out that I have borderline thyroid issues myself (and that it can be a problem in pregnancy). I’m also vegetarian. Did you have to give up soy completely? Glad to see you are feeling much better this time around – that’s great!

Love these updates! Would you mind sharing your half marathon training schedule with us? With a toddler at home, most training schedules I see are too time consuming. Three runs a week is doable though!

Oh how I love logging into Bloglovin’ & seeing a new post from you!!!! You inspire me in so many areas of life :) I’m glad to see your positive outlook on running, mine is slowly getting back after a year of on & off running since having my little guy! Also I love your style ;) That dress is great!

I got that Chevron shirt in my last fix too! I love how soft it is. I kept it and have worn it twice so far. I do find it a little loose and weird at the bottom…like it doesn’t quite lay right. But it’s cute, isn’t it!?

Hi Emily,
I was just curious as to what direction you’re planning on going with your blog? Recently you’ve been posting once a week or less and I was just curious if you plan on continuing to blog at this pace for good or if you plan on going back to several posts a week at some point. Also, because you’ve mentioned it in the past, I wanted to ask if you are still planning on shifting some focus back to healthy eating/vegetarian recipes/fitness/races or if it will continue to primarily focus on your children. I’m not saying anything is wrong with either direction because you do have some of the cutest kids on Earth, I am just wondering because I honestly love your recipes (your Coconut Eggplant Bharta and Cranberry Quinoa Loaf are AMAZING) and I miss when they were complex and inventive.

What a NEAT business concept (Stitchfix). Love the idea! I tend to do a little shopping on business trips. It allows me to check out cute stores I never get to see and bargain hunt at other ones. It’s the best way to kill time before a train or plane and gets me some walking in before I sit the rest of the day getting home or to my next destination. If I did not travel for work I would get this service for sure–so much fun!

Good for you mama! I know I’m not the only one to say it but you are so motivating. Not sure if you’ve mentioned it before or not but does running lower your milk supply? Do you take anything / do anything to keep it increased? I ran a measly 1.5miles with a 2 mile walk and my milk was drained the next day. Makes me sad cause I really want to run a 1/2 soon but not enough to stop bfing

First, I love reading your blog. I really connected to your comment about digging yourself out of the hole where you buried your sense of self. My son is a year old and just recently I have began feeling more comfortable leaving him to go running or run to the store. I didn’t really think about it until I read your comment. So thank you for helping me reflect and think about new goals for myself. And I have a love-hate relationship with your pictures of Seattle. I lived an hour south for 3 1/2 years and miss it terribly!

Have you heard of After Shokz? They are open ear headphones – you should try them, you can hear your music & your boys at the same time. I use them for bike riding so I can still hear cars. The sound vibrates thru your bones, interesting technology!

I love that Chevron top and the maxi dress! Such fun pieces. And good for you for making some time for yourself to run and just be! I’m not a mom, but I often think of that quote that you hear “You can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first” or something to that effect. It does seem so easy to loose one’s self and identity when taking care of kids all day.